Abdominal hose-supporting belt.



No. 643,754. Patented Feb. 20, I900.

E. W. THAYER. I

-AB DOMINAL HOSE SUPPORTING BELT.

(Application flledKar. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.)

Her fittornqy Rms pzyzns o0. PHOTO LIYMD.. WASH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMILY W. THAYER, OF SHIRLEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ABDOMINAL HOSE-SUPPORTING BELT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 643,754, dated February 20, 1900.

Application filed March 20, 1899- Serial No. 709,710. (No model.)

. citizen of the United States, residing at Shirley Centre, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Abdominal Hose-Supporting Belt, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is the construction of a belt which while more perfectly adapted than any before made forsupportingthe hose worn by a woman shall at the same time be so arranged as to modify and improve the form of the wearer and, further, be capale of suitably holding a napkin whenever one is required. All this is accomplished by the construction herein set forth, and illustrated in the drawings forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the belt laid fiat. Fig. 2 is a view of the invention as worn, and Fig. 3 is a detail View of the napkin holder or clamp.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that-the belt 1 when laid fiat is formed with a semicircular curve sweeping from the end 2 at one extremity to the end 2 at the other. Midlike projection 4, while nearer the said ends projection.

2 are narrow projections 3, broad sweeping curves skirting the belt from projection to Secured to the ends 2 are the elastic tabs 10, provided with fastening devices 12, preferably of the kind known as the ball-and-socket glove-fastening. By bringing these fastenings into engagement the belt is brought into the form shown in Fig. 2, where the dotted lines indicate the outlines of the human figure, for which the belt is designed.

The object in having the -tabs 10 elastic is to provide a means for fitting the belt about waists of different dimensions and also to render the same more comfortable while being worn and when sitting down, rising, and stooping.

To the narrow projections 3 are attached the hose-supporting elastics 13, provided with suitable means at theirlower ends for attachment to the hose, and to the edges of the broad projection t are secured similar elastics 14:, adapted at their lower ends for attachment to the hose.

In use the portion 4 of the belt comes immediately over the abdomen of the wearer, while the projections 3 come just back of the rounded sides of the hips, at the places commonly referred to as the hollow of the thigh. The elastics 14 are designed to be attached to the front edges of the hose, while the elastics 6o 13 should be attached to the rear edges of the hose. Thus used the device supports the hose of the wearer with perfect comfortin whatever position she may occupy, whether standing, stooping, sitting, leaning, or lying down.

'There is never any undue pull at one edge of a hose while the opposite edge is slack. The supporting-elastics do not. show through the clothing, and when the wearer is sitting the elastics 13 do not come beneath but at the sides of the thighs. Hence when the wearer leans forward from a sitting posture there is no undue strain upon the rear set of elastics 13. The function of the abnominal portion at is equallyimportant and even more varied. The pull of the elastics 14 coming from the two hose to nearly the same point on said part 4 serves not simply to more equably support the hose in all normal positions of the wearer, but when she leans sharply to one side as well. In this latter position the tendency would he were the elastics 14: attached to the belt at points wide apart to unduly strain the fastening at the elevated side. Further, such points of attachment to the belt being located at the end of the projection 4, and therefore at some distance below the belt proper, diminishes the. inequalities of strain for both this and other movements of the body. I-prefer, however,

to have the projection 4 wide enough to allow space between the elastics 14 for the application of a removable napkin-support. Such .support is arranged as follows: At the center of the lower portion of the projection 4 is an eye 20, as shown in Fig. 1. Through this eye 5 is passed the ball of aball-and-socket fastening at the ends of the strap 21, in the bight of which is the napkin-clamp 22,as shown in Fig. 3. The opposite end of the napkin is held by the clamp 23, supported in the fold I00 of the strap 24, whose ends are separated, as shown in the drawings, and secured to the comfortable; but this is not essential.

belt at each side of the tabs 10 by means of the ball-and-socket fastenings 25. Preferably said strap 24: is formed from elastic in order to make the pull of the napkin more The other function of the said portion l and of the attachment thereto of the hose-supportends united at the back of the wearer, the lower central edge of the belt being enlarged into the large tab or apron, and the lower edge of the belt near its ends being formed with smaller tabs adapted to come over the hollow of the thigh of the wearer, elastics attached to the said front tab or apron and adapted to descend substantially vertically to the front edges of the Wearers hose, and the elastics attached to the said rear tabs and adapted to descend Vertically to the rear edges of the hose, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing invention I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of March, 1899.

EMILY W. TI'IAYER.

Witnesses:

A. B. UPHAM, GUY H. HOLLIDAY. 

